Did he do an EKG? How can you diagnose a condition without any bloodwork, physical exam, or CT, EKG??
Women's symptoms for heart disease are VERY mild and can be misconstrued for all sorts of things. If he didn't do an EKG, he's not a very good doc.

NONE of us are doctors and I don't think we should be diagnosing ourselves.

I'm with JP.
Yes, many of us have costochondritis issues---and I have the issue---but many cardiac conditions are invisible, silent, and often only caught when they result in serious symptoms---so unless an EKG was done to be safe? Your average BP and pulse etc are only that---measures of pulse and BP. The only way they dx'd me with costo was to rule out cardiac---not fun, but neessary---because heart symptoms not only vary between men and owmen, they vary from one person to another, and one condition to another. I had a bout with a valve issue caused by a med back in my early 20s and if they hadn't done the EKG? I could've had a pretty bad time. Instead, they caught it, the med was changed, all well and no damage---but i wen tin thinking I had bronchitis b/c of the tight breathign. Yep, I'm a brilliant diagnostician all right...

Yes, we recommend the ER in cases of chest pain. It saves lives. Many people's first heart attack is their *last*---and only. Age and fitness level can be utterly irrelevant. So unless you are a cardiologist who did a full battery of tests on yourself? No, you do not *know* it is not your heart. I am sorry to be a beyotch, but I take this seriously. Too many times I've seen people blow off "Oh it's just y GERD, my FM, my XYZ...." and it's been something else entirely. Sometimes benign, sometimes not. We often *are* correct in our instincts---but we're also sometimes wrong.

Or, to paraphrase a common saying, "Better to be embarrassed in front of twelve than carried by six."

Be well, be safe, be careful,
Leo

What is wrong here she saw her DOCTOR why are you disbelieving!!!!
Glad you got the diagnosis so you know what it is. Sorry for the rage!

Just seeing a doctor doesn't mean they ruled everything out...some doctors are still practicing in an antiquated manner (this is not to say that hers is one of those, just an observation). I had a gastroenterologist tell me that the only food intolerances you can possibly have are Celiac disease and lactose intolerance. Yet I know from experience I can't eat gluten despite being negative for Celiac, and I also can't do nuts or chickpeas. A doctor telling you it's not this or that means very little without objective testing to back it up.

I feel that some of you took my post the wrong way. I wasn't being sarcastic about the advice I received from you. In fact, I was trying to convey just the opposite. The fact that I didn't go to the ER is on me. I decided I would go if the pains came back. They didn't. You all gave me the correct advice, the advice I would give someone if they told me they had chest pains that radiated to their back.

And my JOKE about my doctor agreeing with MY diagnosis was just that: A joke. I guess it's a little tricky to joke around when you can't see my expression or hear my tone of voice. My bad.

Actually, the appointment today was for my yearly physical. He administered a complete physical, with blood work. I had recently had an EKG with another doctor and my GP was aware of the results.

Jeepers guys, don't be mad at me.

It didn't seem like they were mad, just concerned that everything had been checked out. Whenever I complain of chest pain and get poked in the chest, I tell them it will always hurt anytime you poke me there. I don't think poking me is a very good test for me in telling costocondritis from a heart problem.

Tender, we were only concerned. We're not angry, just scared. In the past on this board, we literally have lost people to death b/c they did *not* rely on a doctor---or they have ended up with worse results than they might have if they'd gone sooner. So we react pretty strongly to the mere idea. It's rare, but it does occur.

I'm just so glad you got the EKG! *whew* That's a huge relief when one of those comes back clean and clear.

Cheers,
Leo

BTW, yeah, humor online? Very hard to convey sarcasm etc. So no worries, we all read out of our own context and experiences.

Yes I agree always get checked out better safe than sorry I feel like a hypochondriac sometimes because I have a doctor for every pain ,I want to make sure I had chest pains couple years back with you the whole world even an angiogram thank God everything came out alright but you never know that What it can be , it was acid reflux, reply that just goes to show you never know what it is everybody have a good day pain-free I hope love you all

So glad you got this checked. I had terrible pain in my chest before I knew it was fibro. Docs thought I was a nut, but the pain is REAL. I hope you feel better soon.

Well, I've calmed down now. Thank you everyone. As you can all probably relate to, when I'm hurting like I was yesterday, my emotions get all screwed up. I was paranoid yesterday that no one understood what was going on with me. But, of course, you do. That's the whole point of this board.

I know how u feel right now. When I was diagnosed with Costochondritis they thought it was breast cancer, my sternum was so swollen it was visible, under ultrasound, across the middle of my breasts. Don't feel bad for not going to the ER, U know ur body. I went to ER once and they told me just take my pain meds cause heart was fine. Have learned over the years with this hat heat seems to help so I use a heating pad when the pain gets really bad. I hope this flare doesn't last too long for you. Best wishes